Interesting. The sermon at church this morning was not on Mary, Jesus, the wise men, the star in the east, the virgin birth, no room in the inn……it was about Joseph.

Joseph. The earthly father of Jesus. The man who raised him, taught him his carpentry trade and seemingly disappeared from the scriptures. There is no mention of him past Jesus' teenage years. Where did he go? Why was he left out? Some say he was quite a bit older than Mary. Did he die before Jesus reached adulthood?

Mary. We hear all about her and the angel that appeared to her and told her to "fear not". Fear? She was pregnant at age 13 or 14, not married and had never had sexual intercourse. Yeah… I'd say she was afraid.

Joseph. An angel also appeared to him and told him to take Mary as his wife, raise the child as his own and name him Jesus. What to do. Before the revelation from the angel, Joseph had decided to just sweep all of it under the rug, ship Mary out of town and then get on with his life. He must have really cared for her.

Mary. The punishment for being single and pregnant was being stoned to death, disinherited from her family, or living on the streets as a beggar or thief. Not exactly the home we would expect our Savior to be brought up in.

Joseph. What a wonderful man: obedient to God, disregarding the law of the land, taking on a task that no doubt frightened him as well. Because he said "yes" to God, Mary and Jesus were spared and the plan took shape.

I wonder what they talked about? I wonder if they had any idea of what they were getting into. I wonder if God spoke again to either of them as Jesus' life unfolded. I wonder where Joseph was when they crucified his son? I wonder if he wept in silence or felt relief. Or was he looking on from the afterlife?

This Christmas season let's salute the man who accepted his life with unconditional love and obedience: Mary Christmas, Joseph.